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2018 Preseason articles....

Judge Smails

Judge Smails

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Penn State's James Franklin pushing program to capitalize on recent momentum

With a 2016 Big Ten title, back-to-back 11-win seasons, rising attendance and increasing revenue, Penn State football is surging, competitively and financially. Franklin, entering his fifth season as head coach, wants to capitalize on that momentum.

Interest in Penn State football provides a headwind. The program has countered a recent college-football trend, generating a 6.5-percent attendance increase last season. Penn State average’s average attendance was 106,707, the nation’s third-highest and the program’s best since 2008.


For this season, Penn State has sold more than 6,300 new season-ticket plans.
“I don't want this to come off the wrong way,” Franklin said. “I am unbelievably appreciative of what we've been able to get done in a short period of time. But I also recognize that we have momentum right now, and we have to capitalize on this momentum. Because I don't want to be a program that, every three or four years, we have a really good run.

“I want to be a program that can do it consistently. And there's only a handful of programs that do that.”
 
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Penn State's James Franklin is happy, but far from content
In a one-on-one interview, the football coach talks about sustaining momentum, Trace McSorley and more.

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WRITTEN BY RICH SCARCELLA

Franklin also was happy about his job as he prepared for his fifth season as the Penn State football coach. The Nittany Lions are coming off back-to-back 11-win seasons, top-10 finishes and New Year's Six bowl appearances and enjoying much recruiting success.

But he's far from content.

He has higher aspirations for Penn State. He wants the Lions to be perennial national championship contenders, which explains why he's operating at a fever pitch.

How do sustain the momentum you've built the last two years?

That's why I'm kind of crazy right now. We have unbelievable momentum right now. There's buzz. There's excitement.

I've seen hundreds of programs and organizations that had momentum and didn't capitalize on the momentum, lost it and were never able to get it back.

That's why I'm kind of fanatical right now. We have great momentum, and we have to use that momentum to keep building a foundation so we could sustain this long term. I don't think people realize how fragile this all is.

I worry that we take a deep breath as a Penn State population and say, "We're back. We're in a good place. We can relax now."

We can't because the programs we're competing against haven't taken their foot off the gas for 20 years. Football is so competitive at such a high level, that's how you have to operate day in and day out, year in and year out. That's what I'm trying to do.

You said this spring: "They expect the head coach to come (to Penn State) and stay for 50 years. I'm perfectly fine with that." What did you mean by that?

Penn State is different. A lot of places get sick of you after five years or even three years. I think this is a place where that's how we think it's supposed to happen. The head coach and the assistants are supposed to stay for a long time. For me to be able to raise my kids in the same school district from the time they're in elementary school all the way through high school is unheard of.

Most coaches are looking for a place where they can have long-term stability. But you only want to do that at a place where you can achieve all of your goals. This is a place where I can offer a great education, we can win Big Ten championships and we can win national championships, so you can do it all here.
 
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RETURN TO HAPPY VALLEY
After a stunning upset that catapulted Penn State back into national prominence in 2016, Ohio State is set to return to State College, Pa. on Sept. 29 for a rubber match of sorts.

30467122736_27c5c3673e_b.jpg

Penn State's 2016 win over Ohio State brought the Nittany Lions back to national prominence. The Buckeyes return to Happy Valley this season.
The Buckeyes got revenge last season, staging a fourth quarter comeback for the ages, defeating Penn State 39-38 in Columbus. With Trace McSorley back behind center for the Nittany Lions, James Franklin's squad once again looks primed to contend for a conference title. With Ohio State and Penn State meeting so early in the season, the game carries plenty of intrigue, but doesn't provide the pressure of a late October matchup that we have become used to seeing.

The loser of this matchup could very well still make a push to play in Indianapolis in December and perhaps still sneak into the College Football Playoff. While bragging rights are still on the line, the pressure of the premier matchup won't have as much pressure on it, as it is still early enough for the losing team to rebound with two months left in the regular season. Does James Franklin view that game the same way? Or is the pressure always on, especially in a white-out game with the Buckeyes in town?


Dstacify 19 HOURS AGO
The PSU game is easily the biggest pitfall matchup we have on our schedule this season. I certainly hope the team goes into that matchup ultra-focused (keep in mind Meyer has only lost two road games in his entire OSU career so winning in opposing stadiums is not an issue for him).
 
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From the first article, I know the recent narrative has been that in 2016 JF was on the hot seat. I think anybody in the know would disagree with this. The roster was still somewhat affected by the sanctions impact and we had lost 7 LB’s due to injury. 2017 was going to be the hot seat year if there was one.
 
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Judge Smails said:
RETURN TO HAPPY VALLEY
After a stunning upset that catapulted Penn State back into national prominence in 2016, Ohio State is set to return to State College, Pa. on Sept. 29 for a rubber match of sorts.

30467122736_27c5c3673e_b.jpg

Penn State's 2016 win over Ohio State brought the Nittany Lions back to national prominence. The Buckeyes return to Happy Valley this season.
The Buckeyes got revenge last season, staging a fourth quarter comeback for the ages, defeating Penn State 39-38 in Columbus. With Trace McSorley back behind center for the Nittany Lions, James Franklin's squad once again looks primed to contend for a conference title. With Ohio State and Penn State meeting so early in the season, the game carries plenty of intrigue, but doesn't provide the pressure of a late October matchup that we have become used to seeing.

The loser of this matchup could very well still make a push to play in Indianapolis in December and perhaps still sneak into the College Football Playoff. While bragging rights are still on the line, the pressure of the premier matchup won't have as much pressure on it, as it is still early enough for the losing team to rebound with two months left in the regular season. Does James Franklin view that game the same way? Or is the pressure always on, especially in a white-out game with the Buckeyes in town?


Dstacify 19 HOURS AGO
The PSU game is easily the biggest pitfall matchup we have on our schedule this season. I certainly hope the team goes into that matchup ultra-focused (keep in mind Meyer has only lost two road games in his entire OSU career so winning in opposing stadiums is not an issue for him).
Click to expand...

Great pic of Reid - here's the rest of his celebration (which is just awesome....):

john-reidpng-3270082581f79aef.png
 
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Franklin didn't mention his name in his opening remarks at BT media...(Johnson, Cooper, Parsons, Luketa).

 
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The worst football coaches in history of Big Ten teams
By JORDAN JAMESWed Jul 25 2018

GERRY DINARDO - INDIANA (2002-04)
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ANN ARBOR, MI - SEPTEMBER 27: Head coach Gerry DiNardo of the Indiana University at Bloomington Hoosiers watches as his team lose to the University of Michigan Wolverines at Michigan Stadium on September 27, 2003 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Michigan defeated Indiana 31-17. (Photo by Danny Moloshok/Getty Images)
DiNardo had moderate success as a head coach at Vanderbilt and LSU before taking the Hoosiers job in 2002. However, he went 1-7 in Big Ten play for three straight seasons and never won more than three games. Dinardo was fired with an overall mark of 8-27 (.229) during his Indiana tenure.
 
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Lindy's Sports:

They have us at #11 - "Another factor in the rugged East"

"James Franklin is the Pied Piper, Come, follow him to big things - perhaps even a playoff berth. How dominating have the Nittany Lions been? Since early 2016, they are 20-3. Penn State had one of the most dynamic offenses in the nation last season (41.1 points and 460.3 years per game.) The defense also did its part, allowing 16.5 points and 329.5 yards a game. It's a happy tune in State College.

THE GOOD NEWS: RB Saquon Barkley is gone, but don't weep for these Nittanies. Plenty of firepower remains. Juwan Johnson is a freaky good wideout, while the line will be the best in years. And meet Miles Sanders, the heir to Barkley's throne. Best of all, triggerman, Trace McSorley is back to lead the charge - and make a Heisman run of his own.

THE BAD NEWS: The defense has taken some hits, which wiped out the entire secondary. (blah blah blah) The offense also lost its play-caller, as coordinator Joe Moorehead took over the Mississippi State Program. Franklin promoted Ricky Rahne to push the buttons. Fingers are crossed.

OUR CALL: A high-powered offense should cover for a defense that may take a bit to develop. Don't be shocked if this team is in Indianapolis playing for the Big Ten title.

We're picked to finish 3rd in the East behind Ohio State & Michigan State... followed by Michigan & Maryland.

Has there ever been a bigger season at home for Penn State?

Athlon Sports:

Also have us at #11

"Nittany Lions Fans no doubt will grieve the loss of dazzling running back Saqoun Barkley, but those who are truly forward thinking will be more concerned about the departure of offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead, who took the top job at Mississippi State. Barkley was amazing, but it was Moorhead's scheme and - more important - his ability to make outstanding halftime adjustments that triggered Penn State's rise to prominence. It will be interesting to see how the program survives his absence.

One outstanding key to damage control is QB Trace McSorley, who is back for his senior year. McSorley is one of the nation's most exciting players and thrives in all sorts of settings, including broken-play chaos. Junior running back Miles Sanders has a fine pedigree and should have some big moments, but he isn't Barkley. The receiving corps was deep last year, but the losses of tight end Mike Gesicki and wideout Dae-Sean Hamilton will hurt. Barkley was a big-time target in the passing game, too.

The defense returns only two starters, which wouldn't be a big problem if the offense had the same potency as last year's unit, but without Barkley, Gesicki, and Moorhead, that isn't likely to be the case. Linebacker Koa Farmer and end Shareef Miller must step into leadership roles.

The schedule gets tougher, too, thanks to the addition of Wisconsin."

Prediction: 9-3 (6-3) - Peach Bowl VS Miami

 
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NittanyLion15 said:
but it was Moorhead's scheme and - more important - his ability to make outstanding halftime adjustments that triggered Penn State's rise to prominence. It will be interesting to see how the program survives his absence.
Click to expand...

We can thank Moorhead, because his offense is now "Penn State's offense". Franklin talked about it. Any new coordinator coming in will have to learn "the Penn State offense", not vice versa. Rahne is going to have his own twist on things, but the scheme, the playbook, etc. hasn't changed.

I've talked about it many times, but it truly is amazing how completely other fans and writers haveforgotten about the impact of the sanctions, the poor recruiting that came along with it, talented players being allowed to transfer, etc. They said we would be down for a decade or more, and when we survived, avoided losing seasons, it's like collective amnesia struck. "Franklin's offense sucked before Moorhead arrived." We had two lightly recruited defensive tackles starting at guard and center, we had one scholarship upper class offensive tackle, and the talent was down everywhere else. Of course the offense sucked.
 
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Judge Smails said:
We can thank Moorhead, because his offense is now "Penn State's offense". Franklin talked about it. Any new coordinator coming in will have to learn "the Penn State offense", not vice versa. Rahne is going to have his own twist on things, but the scheme, the playbook, etc. hasn't changed.

I've talked about it many times, but it truly is amazing how completely other fans and writers haveforgotten about the impact of the sanctions, the poor recruiting that came along with it, talented players being allowed to transfer, etc. They said we would be down for a decade or more, and when we survived, avoided losing seasons, it's like collective amnesia struck. "Franklin's offense sucked before Moorhead arrived." We had two lightly recruited defensive tackles starting at guard and center, we had one scholarship upper class offensive tackle, and the talent was down everywhere else. Of course the offense sucked.
Click to expand...

It still baffles my mind, (in a good way) that we never once suffered a losing season after 2011.

In 50 years... assuming that college football is still being playing, I'd be willing to bet that sports historians will look back at CFB records of old, (at the turn of this century) and mistakingly pinpoint the losing seasons of 00, 01, 03, and 04 as "The Dark Years" that resulted in the aftermath of the Sandusky Scandal.

Really makes you wonder all the nuance you're missing out on when you look at the block schedules from the early 1900s. There's a story behind every season, every class, every coach, every decade. The sports been around enough now, that much of it tends to be forgotten.

 
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Can you guess the most overrated team from each Power 5 conference over the last decade?

https://www.sbnation.com/2018/7/27/17617326/overrated-teams

I’ll compare those expected finishes with what happened in real life.

For example:

  • 2017 Clemson predicted finish: Second in the ACC Atlantic
  • 2017 Clemson’s actual finish: First in the ACC Atlantic
  • That’s +1 for the Tigers in 2017 because they outperformed what those in the ACC media thought they’d do.
Minnesota +6
Rutgers +6
Maryland +5
Iowa +3
Northwestern +3
Penn State +3
Purdue +2
Indiana 1.5
Michigan State +1
Illinois -0.5
Ohio State -1
Nebraska -2
Wisconsin -3.5
Michigan -10

LOL Michigan
 
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NittanyLion15 said:
It still baffles my mind, (in a good way) that we never once suffered a losing season after 2011.

In 50 years... assuming that college football is still being playing, I'd be willing to bet that sports historians will look back at CFB records of old, (at the turn of this century) and mistakingly pinpoint the losing seasons of 00, 01, 03, and 04 as "The Dark Years" that resulted in the aftermath of the Sandusky Scandal.

Really makes you wonder all the nuance you're missing out on when you look at the block schedules from the early 1900s. There's a story behind every season, every class, every coach, every decade. The sports been around enough now, that much of it tends to be forgotten.

View embedded media
Click to expand...
Penn State is one of two Big Ten programs to have winning records since 2005. The other is Wisky.
 
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Judge Smails said:
View embedded media
Click to expand...

I finally had a chance to watch this video. These are impressive kids. Success With Honor is what Penn State does.

We can concoct all kinds of scenarios for Tommy Stevens, but the bottom line is that he is still at Penn State and is on a video praising Trace McSorley. Team first.

Despite what was done to the program in 2011 and 2012, Penn State really didn't miss a beat. The drop-off in talent for a few years was inevitable, but they kept recruiting quality student-athletes, kept winning, and kept graduating.

This is a special football program. We Are.
 
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https://www.elevenwarriors.com/coll...-offensive-statistical-leaders-in-the-big-ten


Today, we take a stab at which Big Ten athletes will lead the conference in the three major offensive statistical categories: passing, rushing and receiving yards.

We start with the gunslingers, which on this list, features a Buckeye.

PASSING: DWAYNE HASKINS, OHIO STATE
A Buckeye quarterback has not led the conference in passing yards since 1995 when Bobby Hoying threw for 3,269, but this could very well be the year Ohio State re-claims the top spot in passing yards.

Of course, Ohio State is a run-first team with a two-headed monster at running back, but when you look around the conference, the teams that were near the top last year lost plenty of offensive talent.

Penn State quarterback Trace McSorley led the league in passing yards last season, but also had Saquon Barkley setting up the play-action pass and also catching passes out of the backfield. Barkley, along with DaeSean Hamilton, are gone to the NFL, and McSorley will be forced to do more with less in 2018.

All of this brings us to Haskins, who is a pass-first signal caller with perhaps the biggest arm in the Big Ten. Flanked by a pair of elite running backs and a veteran wide receiver unit, Haskins has a chance to beat defensive backs downfield on play-action passes with his big arm, much like Cardale Jones did in 2014. If Haskins stays healthy, there is a very good chance he can lead the Big Ten in passing, as Ohio State's offense figures to look different than in years past.


BucksHave7 28 JUL 2018, 4:11 PM
The prediction is correct. Haskins is way better though at throwing the ball w much better receivers.


BornAndBredABuck 28 JUL 2018, 7:43 PM
McSorley's stats were greatly helped by 1) defenses gearing up to stop Saquon Barkley at all costs, 2) easy tosses to the aforementioned Barkley, and 3) having Mike Gesicki and DaeSean Hamilton going up to win an extremely high percentage of passes that were basically flung up for grabs by your hero.
It's not being a Buckeye homer to express doubt that he'll be able to come anywhere near his numbers from last season without those three around to help inflate them.


BucksHave7 23 HOURS AGO

To think that McShorty is going to have the same production without arguably the greatest blocking and pass catching RB in the last 10 years in the B10 is funny.
What about no Moorhead? Another huge loss (when was last time a B10 OC was hired directly into an SEC HC role).
Basically for about 10 reasons, PSU is worse on offense this year than last year. While the rest of the B10East all got better and for once PSU plays Wisky this year.


 
Wow I wish we had writers with optimism like this. Predicting their QB to lead the B1G in yards in over 20 years who has only played a drive or 2? Did Lind write this article?
 
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Last season the program went all in with Barkley for Heisman campaign, do we think the same happens this season with McSorley?

Remember the website they had built to track Barkley's stats/highlights? I wonder if they'll do the same with Trace.
 
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